Braven

Action, Thriller

Available on VOD: 8 maart 2018

Director: Lin Oeding

Cast: Jason Momoa (Justice League, Aquaman, Game of Thrones, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don't Breathe, In The Blood), Garret Dillahunt (No Country for Old Men, Looper, 12 Years a Slave)

When Joe Braven (Jason Momoa), a humble logger residing along the U.S./Canada border is confronted by a group of deadly drug runners who have stashed heroin in his secluded cabin in the mountains, he must do everything in his power to protect his family. Little do the elite drug runners know the unassuming man they've encountered has an impressive bite colliding two dynamic forces - one fighting for the lives of his family, the other for the love of the kill.

• Screendependent.be: De film is goed van het begin tot het einde en weet actie perfect te vermengen met het kleine dramatische verhaal. Regisseur Lin Oeding presenteert een stijlvolle, spannende en met momenten rakende film die echt de moeite waard is. En door het acteerwerk van Jason Momoa en Stephen Lang wordt het allemaal nog beter. Laat je dus niet misleiden door het feit dat de film niet in de bioscoop te zien was!
• Variety.com: Braven remains exciting and suspenseful even after Joe vrooms out of the claustrophobic cabin setting on an ATV, triggering a manhunt in the snow that further illustrates Oeding's ability to choreograph action in clear, clean fashion. And that action is all the more involving because the freshman filmmaker gives his actors sufficient time to flesh out their characters before the bullets (and arrows) start flying. To put it simply and gratefully: Braven is the sort of unpretentious yet thoroughly professional popcorn entertainment that brings out the best in everybody involved.
• Villagevoice.com: Any cheapjack action movie can get a crowd to cheer at its shock kills. It's the best ones that persuade us that there's a clear chain-of-events physical logic at play — that find suspense in one action leading inevitably to another.
• Latimes.com: Action-thriller 'Braven's' Jason Momoa proves as skilled on land as he is at sea. It's Momoa's show and he brings strength, warmth and gravitas to a part that, thanks to an emotionally-grounded script. A solid, fast-paced action-thriller.
• Slantmagazine.com: Lin Oeding's Braven thrives on both the beauty of its natural, snowbound surroundings and the brutal instincts of man. Braven is the sort of scaled-down, sure-footed, and efficient action film that the hyper-saturated video-on-demand market needs more of.
• NYPost.com: For anyone looking for a shot of vengeance adrenaline while waiting for "John Wick 3" to come down the pike, "Braven" will probably fit the bill.
• Cinemarter.com: Braven will satisfy action movie fans who want to see a chapter that relies more on the physicality of its actors than technology. It has a simple premise, a slow-burn setup, and then lets it all play out logically.
• Flyckeringmyth.com: Lin Oeding's Braven is the kind of 90s punch-in-the-mouth action flick us genre fans fight tooth-and-nail to find nowadays. A deliciously junkfood Jason Momoa centerpiece that could be wedged right between Commando and Cobra watches. Hell, Oeding's opening lumberjack sequence is a straight callback to 1985's Arnold Schwarzenegger classic (missed opportunity not having Momoa carry a log, if you ask me). Reluctant heroes, stone-cold criminals, packages of dope – it's everything we love about cheesy survival flicks with zero hassle. Simplicity be damned. If there's one thing Braven knows how to do, it's show you a bloody good time. 

Death in Texas

Action

Available on VOD: 5 augustus 2021

Director: Scott Windhauser

Cast: Lara Flynn Boyle (Men In Black II, The Practice, Twin Peaks), Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don't Breathe, In The Blood), Bruce Dern (Monster, The Astronaut Farmer), Ronnie Gene Blevins (The Conjuring III)

Billy Walker (Blevins) is released from prison to find that his mother, Grace (Flynn Boyle), needs a liver transplant or will die within weeks. In the hospital she meets John (Lang) whom she shares some intimate moments with. In a last ditch effort to save her, Billy, descends into El Pasos’ dark underbelly of drugs and sex trafficking, discovering unlikely allies and redemption along the way. Billy and his mother wrestle with a lifetime of bad choices, and in the end, only one decision can save them both.

• Blu-ray.com: Scott Windhauser finds a fresh way to deal with old genre business in "Death in Texas." He commits to character and performance, working to get the audience invested in these damaged people and their emotional history, making clear connections between the players while gradually increasing tension.
• Eyeforfilm.co.uk: Boyle has had a number of misfires over the course of her career, but here she really delivers, and she has great chemistry with Lang. The other main performances are similarly impressive.
• Jbspins.com: Ronnie Gene Blevins deserves credit for his hardboiled but understated performance as Walker.
• Nightmarishconjurings.com: This cast is excellent. Bruce Dern brings that same grit that is present in the entire film and it makes him a perfect baddie. As for Stephen Lang, he’s a great actor, giving a great performance of a terribly written character. Truthfully, that’s the heart of the issue with this film. It’s a grouping of excellent performances.

In The Blood

Action, Crime, Thriller

Available on VOD: 18 november 2014

Director: John Stockwell

Cast: Gina Carano (Deadpool, Haywire, Furious 6), Cam Gigandet (Priest, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn II, Easy A), Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don't Breathe, In The Blood), Luis Guzmán (The Last Stand, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Anger Management ), Danny Trejo (Machete, In the Blood), Amaury Nolasco (A Good Day to Die Hard, Transformers, 2 Fast 2 Furious), Ismael Cruz Cordova (White Alligator)

Gina Carano stars as Ava, a trained fighter with a dark past. When her new husband (Cam Gigandet) vanishes during their Caribbean honeymoon, Ava uncovers a violent underworld of conspiracy in the middle of an island paradise. Armed with a deadly set of skills, Ava sets out to discover the truth – and to take down the men she thinks are responsible for his abduction, one by one.

• 1nfluxmagazine.com: A movie that kept me glued to the screen...and my adrenalin pumping! An exceptional film all around.
• Cinema-crazed.com: The excellent Gina Carano takes her shot at her own version of "Breakdown," and "Frantic," with an action thriller that delivers on all fronts. "In the Blood" is a great vehicle for Gina Carano, it's a tense and exciting action thriller I was very much invested in until the very end, and I can't wait to see more from Ms. Carano.
• CoolAwesomeMovies.com: The bottom line, that is, why "In the Blood" works is the following: Gina Carano is a good action hero(ine). Gina bring that old-school action vibe to the table.
• KungFuCinema.com: Following her debut lead role in HAYWIRE, former mixed martial arts champion Gina Carano proves with this follow-up that she can not only fight, but proves herself to be a good actress.
• TheFilmStage.com: This is her Cobra, her Commando, her Double Team — now she is truly an action star.
• DigitalJournal.com: One of the great things about casting Carano in this role is she is believable. As a former mixed martial arts fighter turned actress, she doesn't need to pretend to know what she's doing in a fight because she actually does.
• Cooltarget.blogspot.co.uk: It's Carano's relentless mission through the seedier side of the Caribbean that gives the film its momentum and the former fighter turn actress proves again she's got the talent to become a leading female action star.
• Cinemadeviant.com: You completely get your money's worth with this one and if you are into action movies or (more importantly) Gina Carano then you WILL NOT be disappointed one bit and I can't wait to see her in more movies like this.
• Variety.com: Ava goes full Death Wish. Not just a martial artist, Ava proves proficient in amateur surgery ("Oh, but you can live without your spleen, can't you?).
• LATimes.com: Action and thrills are 'In the Blood'.
• Examiner.com: [The] star is no shrinking violet unable to fend off her attackers. Instead it's MMA star-turned-movie bad ass Gina Carano, in her first solo lead role since Haywire. When she's doing her thing, namely cracking a few skulls, the film is a fun, gritty throwback. She's not only a physical force of nature, bending her screen foes into pretzels with ease, but she's also quite the beauty and someone who has a natural presence. When Carano is given free reign to break a few bones, you never want to look away. A solid old school action flick.
• Theactionelite.com: Overall, In the Blood really showcases Gina Carano's action hero credentials and if you're looking for a movie with some twists and turns, engaging story and plenty of broken bones then you'll have a blast.
• 7mpictures.com: Fortunately, "In the Blood" is more like the aforementioned "Taken" and less like "Hostel." Still, it's this ripped-from-the-headlines approach to the story that makes it hit home.
• ShowBizJunkies.com: The film's well-paced and if you're into reality-driven action scenes, it's one of the better offerings in what's, thus far, been a disappointing year for the genre.
• Filmschoolrejects.com: Ava breaks more than a few bones on her way to the truth, and that's where Carano shines.
• DVDTalk.com: It's a stalwart reminder of traditional punch-and-kick action flicks standing firm for a tradition of non-CGI stunts.

Veterans of Foreign Wars

Action

Available on VOD: 12 november 2020

Director: Joe Begos

Cast: Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don't Breathe, In The Blood), William Sadler (When They See Us, The Shawshank Redemption), Fred Williamson (From Dusk Till Dawn), Sierra McCormick (Curb Your Enthusiasm)

The film follows Fred and his military buddies as they must defend their local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) post – and an innocent teen – against a deranged drug dealer and his relentless army of punk mutants. These Vietnam vets have been to hell and back, but this will be the longest night of their lives.

• Filmthreat.com: Begos shows us what he’s really made of by building a relentless pace so packed with tension we remain firmly at the edge of our seats, biting our fingernails until there’s nothing left.
• Austinchronicle.com: Splatter. Some are imitate it, mimicking the gritty, gory glories of 1980s exploitation cinema. Yet some are clearly born to it, relishing the way that blood and brains spread over a ring-marked sticky bar top. Count Joe Begos among the latter and VFW is his VHStastic nightmare, an unrelenting throwback to a gleefully caustic view of America's capacity for untrammeled nastiness.
• Joblo.com: Joe Begos has assembled a killer cast of legit genre movie icons for his action-horror hybrid VFW. A take on John Carpenter’s ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (right down to the Carpenter-esque score), this old genre staple gets shaken up a bit in that, rather than have the bad guys totally outmatch our heroes, the good guys are more than able to hold their own – and then some.
• Film.avclub.com: Drenched in grit, gore, and neon, VFW is an action throwback that hits all the right notes.
• Thefilmstage.com: Joe Begos Delivers a Carnage-Filled Throwback.
• Slashfilm.com: It’s vile, slick with repugnance, and appropriately inhumane. A canon full of guts blasted straight into your face – the Fangoria way.
• Nytimes.com: Characterized by blood-red lighting and bright-blue dialogue, the movie revels in a blasted urban setting that’s as repugnant as most of its supporting characters. And that’s before heads explode and faces are pounded to dog meat.
• Hollywoodreporter.com" the pic succeeds on its own terms of being a nostalgic throwback to the days when such B-movies routinely opened on double and triple bills in urban grindhouses.
• Blu-ray.com: Violence is the selling point of VFW, as the Fangoria production is drenched in blood, with weapons repeatedly destroying bodies. It is primarily out to raise hell, and it does well with frequent thrills, giving this unusual cast room to go wild.
• Eyeforfilm.co.uk: it’s brash, ballsy and a lot of fun to watch.
• Theactionelite.com: Overall, VFW might well be the best action movie of the year so far and we’ve had some great ones; the cast are all at their best but it’s the glorious orgy of violence that will keep you glued to your seat from beginning to end.

• Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2019 - Winner Best Actor
• Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2019 - Audience Award